11.05.201814:44:00UTC+00Crude Oil Up 1.4% For Week, Rig Count Soaring

Crude oil futures edged lower Friday, dropping from 4-year highs amid signs that U.S. production will remain robust.

Baker Hughes reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 10 to 844 this week, the sixth consecutive weekly increase.

June WTI oil falls 66 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $70.70/bbl. Still, prices were up 1.4 percent for the week.

Yesterday, Bank of America said crude oil prices will march toward $100/bl.

In economic news, consumer sentiment in the U.S. unexpectedly held steady in early May, according to a report released by the University of Michigan on Friday.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 98.8, unchanged from the final April reading. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 98.5.

Import prices in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of April, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, although the report also showed stronger than expected export price growth.